washes his face before rinsing his mouth that he should rinse his mouth without washing his face again. According to Ibn Habīb, observing this order is a Sunnah practice, though he regarded it as less important than observing the order among obligatory acts. On one occasion, he said that anyone who deliberately reverses it must repeat his ablution, just as when reversing the order among obligatory acts. Elsewhere, however, his words indicate that nothing is required of him [if he has finished his ablution; and he said that if he reverses the order forgetfully, nothing is required of him]. Fadl said: This means if he has finished his ablution. If he is still performing it, however, he should repeat at its proper point the act he performed too early, then wash the parts that follow it, in keeping with his principle. Thus, anyone who forgets a Sunnah act of ablution and remembers it while still at his ablution should perform the forgotten act and those that follow it. It is also possible that these represent two differing opinions of his, in which case one of them would agree with what is stated in al-Muwatta'.

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There are twelve Sunnah practices of ablution. Four are agreed upon within the school: rinsing the mouth, drawing water into the nose, expelling it, and wiping the ears with fresh water taken for them. Mālik’s explicit position, however, is that the ears are part of the head, and that the Sunnah practice consists only in taking fresh water for them. Outside the school, some have held that the ears are part of the head and should be wiped along with it, without taking fresh water for them. Others have held that they are part of the face and should be washed along with it. Still others have held that their inner surfaces are part of the face and their outer surfaces part of the head. Mālik’s position is the correct one, as supported by the hadith:

“When a believing servant performs ablution and rinses his mouth, sins leave his mouth,” continuing to the words: “Then, when he wipes his head, sins leave his head, until they come out through his ears.”

The remaining eight have been classified by some as Sunnah practices and by others as recommended practices. They are washing the hands before putting them into the vessel when one is certain that they are clean, washing more than once after the entire area has been washed, and beginning